Post-Benji it really is hit or miss. Don't sleep on Birds of Film or Possum from Universal Themes. I saw him live after Common, and he was fantastic, even if I wasn't super into the album.
I really can't get into the last couple albums he's produced. They're equivalent to brain-farting out stories you wouldn't dare boring your friends with, plus or minus a couple lines dissing some other band or celebrity. I don't think I can stand another line about him eating at Panera, Dominos, or something else like that. I realize I'm being extremely reductive because I know that Koz is trying to capture the immediacy of subjective experience. Benji did this perfectly in my opinion and the experiment should have ended there (though I enjoy the first Jesu split but that's because Koz achieves a profound heaviness he hadn't tapped into in awhile). I think I like the RHP and early SKM records more than anything else.
Old Ramon and GOTGH are easily his best work imo, but Songs For a Blue Guitar through April is a hell of a run
Sun Kil Moon: This Is My Dinner Album Review | Pitchfork Pitchfork shredded this. I still haven't listened. Is it officially out yet?
the instrumentation can be really beautiful at times, but at this point his ranting style is getting old for me TBH. He started to lose me after Universal Themes. I ADORE anything from him Benji backwards, and a few things here and there since then, but it's getting pretty fatigued IMO.
Kind of odd to call the past two albums mundane when Pitchfork gave it 6 and a 6.5, fairly decent by their scale, but I enjoyed this piece: "built on Kozelek’s fundamental belief that everything that happens to him, from the disappointment of a canceled tour stop to the elation of great Italian food, is worthy of the world’s attention. Assuredly, it is not."
Different writers for each of those reviews, though. Didn't realize this was out, I was waiting so I wouldn't have to use the shitty web player on his website. "This is Not Possible" is...something. The music is interesting, at least. And the instrumentation on the title track is gorgeous. But as much as I enjoyed the last two SKM albums, not much outside of that (like the Jesu or Mark Kozelek stuff) has actually stuck with me.
Been listening to Red House Painters discography and Ghosts of the Great Highway for whatever reason lately. I refuse to check this new one out because it seems like more of the same and the ranting frankly puts me in a bad mood. I don't want to do that to myself. These older albums really are untouchable masterpieces, though.
Seriously, everyone NEEDS to listen to the beginning of "Linda Blair" because I'm snorting just thinking about it
I only listened to that album because when I saw him he played House Cat and it was entertaining in that setting, but otherwise I totally skip over that album.
Linda Blair is very odd. I too was confused whether it was amazing or terrible. I opt now for terrible.
The end of it rips. So far, this is pretty much par for the course with his post-Universal Themes output. Barring any drastic changes in quality, it seems to me that people who like his music now will probably find things to like here, and people who can't stand it won't be able to stand this. It's fine background music for me.
This is pretty similar to Mark Kozelek. I probably wouldn't mind the spoken word shit as much if the songs weren't like 10+ minutes a piece
Holding out the note and screaming on "Rock 'n' Roll Singer" was kind of funny the first time, but four more times and it's like jesus christ, please stop Starting to agree with the rest of the thread. I do like about half the album, and the instrumentation is great at times, but this is pretty easily his worst (under the SKM moniker at least)